Josh Morgan’s mindless penalty costs Redskins in loss to Rams

Following their impressive victory in Week 1 over the New Orleans Saints, it appeared the Washington Redskins and rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III wouldn’t have much of a problem beating the lowly St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

But never underestimate the power of a lapse in judgment.

With Washington trailing 31-28 with less than two minutes remaining, Redskins receiver Josh Morgan threw the ball at Rams cornerback Corteland Finnegan after making a first-down catch. Now, Morgan’s boneheaded ball-fling did come in reaction to being shoved by Finnegan after the play, but it still warranted a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The penalty pushed the Redskins back to the Rams’ 44, where Billy Cundiff missed a 62-yard field goal attempt with 1:13 left.

Sure, Morgan’s probably not the most popular guy among his Redskins teammates after becoming an early candidate for regrettable play of the year, but Washington’s defensive issues need to get sorted out if it plans on vastly improving on last year’s 5-11 record.

Washington’s inability to keep Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and wide receiver Danny Amendola from picking apart its secondary was a huge culprit in Sunday’s loss. If the Redskins did a better job stopping the pass, Morgan’s late blunder wouldn’t have cost them so dearly.

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